Techstars

Techstars is an accelerator that provides pre-seed investment and mentoring for various early stage startups.

ActiveVenture Capital

Updated: Mar 14, 2026 ·

About

Techstars is the original mentorship-driven accelerator. We are a global network that supports founders, mentors, investors, and partners in building the future of business.

Recent News & Mentions

Jul 1, 2019FundingTechstars - Series B Sep 1, 2011FundingTechstars - Venture Round

Financial History

Techstars has raised $66.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $42.0M Series B in July 2019.

Total Raised

$66.0M

Valuation

N/A

Investments Made

Date	Company	Round	Lead Investor(s)	Co-Investor(s)
Oct 1, 2025	Pear Suite	$8.0M Series A	—	Mucker Capital, Rock Health
Oct 1, 2025	TestSprite	$7.0M Seed	—	Cherry Ventures, Vidu Shanmugarajah, Kearny Jackson, Partech Ventures, John Bonten, Marcelo Sampaio
Sep 1, 2025	Mesta	$6.0M Seed	—	8VC, Canonical Crypto, Colle Capital, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, Everywhere Ventures (The Fund), ff Venture Capital, N49P Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Bradford Cross
Sep 1, 2025	BacAlt	$2.0M Seed	—	Avaana Capital, Babel Ventures, Oliver Stahl
Sep 1, 2025	Vibranium Labs	$5.0M Seed	—	Calibrate Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Oak HC/FT, TenOneTen Ventures, Drew Houston
Sep 1, 2025	Baselane	$20.0M Series B	—	20VC, Austin Ventures, Buckley Ventures, Canaan Partners, Forerunner Ventures, Human Capital, Inspired Capital, Magma Partners, R136 Ventures, RRE Ventures, Semble Ventures, Seven Seven Six, Thomvest Ventures, Tucker Seed Fund LLC, Bradley Horowitz, Josh Elman, Matthew Dellavedova, Tony Xu
Sep 1, 2025	Dispatch	$18.0M Series A	—	Atomic, BoxGroup, Brainchild, Brewer Lane Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Flyover Capital, F-Prime Capital Partners, Great North Ventures, Promus Ventures, SOSV, Vista Equity Partners, Bob Pasker, Daren Cotter, Steve Martocci
Aug 1, 2025	Protege	$25.0M Series A	—	Kevin Hartz, CRV, Energize Ventures, Flex Capital, Footwork, Gradient Ventures, Greylock, InterWest, Stellar Capital, Adam D'Angelo, Akshay Kothari, Allison Pickens (Allison Pickens Ventures), Dylan Field, Ed Baker, Julia Hartz, Scott Belsky, Travis May
Jul 1, 2025	H+Trace	$500K Seed	—	Right Side Capital Management
Jul 1, 2025	Akash Systems	$3.0M Venture Round	—	Gaingels
Jul 1, 2025	Remix	$5.0M Seed	—	Bain Capital Ventures, Energy Impact Partners, i/o Ventures, Polychain Capital, Purpose Built Ventures, Louis Beryl, Mike Vernal
Jul 1, 2025	Rwazi	$12.0M Series A	—	Bonfire Ventures
Jul 1, 2025	Brainfish	$6.0M Seed	—	Airbus Ventures, Carbide Ventures, Anandamoy Roychowdhary, Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA)
Jul 1, 2025	HUNTY	$1.0M Seed	—	Cometa, SemperVirens Venture Capital, Eduardo Mufarej, Felipe Villamarin, Jeronimo Uribe, Simon Borrero
Jul 1, 2025	Kilsar	$4.0M Seed	—	Altari Ventures, XStarPartners, Maia Bittner
Jul 1, 2025	Felt	$15.0M Venture Round	—	Kevin Hartz, AirAngels, Alt Capital, Astanor Ventures, Blackbird Ventures Australia, Energize Ventures, Flex Capital, Footwork, Forerunner Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Greylock, InterWest, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Rainfall Ventures, Twelve Below, Akshay Kothari, Allison Pickens (Allison Pickens Ventures), Dylan Field, Ed Baker, Julia Hartz, Scott Belsky
Jun 1, 2025	Janus AI	$500K Seed	—	Amplify.LA, Andreessen Horowitz, AV8 Ventures, Bam Ventures, B Capital Group, Bonfire Ventures, ENIAC Ventures, Fika Ventures, FundersClub, Greycroft, iNovia Capital, Kohala Ventures, KW Angel Fund, Aaron Jacobson, Pitbull Ventures, Rebel Fund, S28 Capital, SoftBank Investment Advisers, Soma Capital, Y Combinator, Zintinus, Ashish Bhatia, Clark Landry, Dan Wright, Gokul Rajaram, Jon Runyan, Ryan Chan, Trevor Wright
Jun 1, 2025	Trustible	$5.0M Seed	—	1/1 Capital, Altos Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Benchmark, Craft Ventures, Dopamine Ventures, Hanaco Ventures, Harlem Capital, Innovation Endeavors, Andrew Schoen, Next Play Ventures, Ragovin Ventures, Tribe Capital, Virginia Venture Partners, Wilshire Lane Capital, Chung Ng, Jaan Tallinn, Joao Otavio Oliverio
May 1, 2025	Clarity Security	$9.0M Series A	—	Collaborative Seed & Growth Partners, Hack VC, Venture Guides
May 1, 2025	Kidola	$1.0M Seed	—	Blue Bear Capital, Cultivation Capital, Expon Capital, Industrious Ventures, OTB Ventures
May 1, 2025	Zeno Power	$50.0M Series B	—	Alumni Ventures, Hanaco Ventures, Social Starts, Tribe Capital, Virginia Venture Partners, Joao Otavio Oliverio
May 1, 2025	Solestial	$17.0M Series A	—	Afore Capital, Airbus Ventures, Aaron Peterman
Apr 1, 2025	Replenysh	$8.0M Series A	—	M13, Rethink Impact
Apr 1, 2025	Glimpse	$10.0M Series A	—	8VC, Allison Pickens Ventures, formerly The New Normal Fund, Alumni Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Bow Capital, Colle Capital, ff Venture Capital, Madrona Ventures, Menlo Ventures, N49P Ventures, Origin Ventures, Shasta Ventures, Sierra Ventures, Bradford Cross
Apr 1, 2025	Outtake	$17.0M Series A	—	10100, 2xN, Kevin Hartz, ACME Capital, Atomic, Benchmark, Cota Capital, Craft Ventures, Matt Ocko, Zachary Bogue, ENIAC Ventures, Expa, First Round Capital, Founder Collective, General Atlantic, Graph Ventures, David Krane, M.G. Siegler, High Alpha, Innovation Endeavors, Shawn Modarresi, K2 Global, Kapor Capital, Kleiner Perkins, LAUNCH, Lead Edge Capital, Long Journey Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Menlo Ventures, NextGen Venture Partners, Pelion Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, Structure Capital, Summit Partners, The Hit Forge, Vayner RSE, Babak Nivi, Jay Z, Jeff Bezos, Jeremy Stoppelman, JOHN FANNING, John Kobs, Josh Spear, Khaled Helioui, Megan Quinn, MG Siegler, Scott Banister, Scott Belsky, Shervin Pishevar, Troy Carter

Funding Rounds Raised

Date	Round	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Jul 1, 2019	$42.0M Series B		BoxGroup, Colle Capital, Foundry Group, Gotham Gal Ventures, Grace Beauty Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Scout Ventures, Vayner RSE, Frank Rimalovski, Lori Greiner
Sep 1, 2011	$24.0M Venture Round		Betaworks Ventures, BoxGroup, Colle Capital, Foundry Group, Gotham Gal Ventures, Grace Beauty Capital, Index Ventures, Lightbank, Pro Founders Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Scout Ventures, Howard Lindzon, SV Angel, Vayner RSE, Bill Tai, Frank Rimalovski, Jason Goldberg, Lori Greiner

Financial History

Techstars has raised $66.0M across 2 funding rounds.

Total Raised

$66.0M

Valuation

N/A

Leadership Team

Key people at Techstars.

Venture Capitalist in Residence at Nike+ Accelerator, Powered by TechStars

Jackson Moses

Mentor, Techstars Space Accelerator

Techstars Boston Investment Team

Venture Partner & Mentor

Managing Director, Amazon's Alexa Accelerator

Investment Management and M&A Lead

zeevi michel

TechStars Ambassador - Tel Aviv

Alumni (Anywhere '22)

Ted Serbinski

Managing Director, Mobility

Co-Founder of TechStars NYC

Joao Nunes

Lead Startup Scout EMEA - Investments

Investment Principal, Techstars Anywhere

Annie Lapides

Senior Investment Manager

Managing Director Boulder 2021

Chinedu Enekwe

Venture Capitalist in Residence

Jessica Peltz-Zatulove

Business Development + Growth

Mentor - Colliers Proptech Accelerator

Investor in Residence - Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator

Chief Investment Strategy Officer, Partner

Sr. Associate (Freelance)

Leadership Team

Key people at Techstars.

Venture Capitalist in Residence at Nike+ Accelerator, Powered by TechStars

Jackson Moses

Mentor, Techstars Space Accelerator

Techstars Boston Investment Team

Venture Partner & Mentor

Managing Director, Amazon's Alexa Accelerator

Investment Management and M&A Lead

zeevi michel

TechStars Ambassador - Tel Aviv

Alumni (Anywhere '22)

Ted Serbinski

Managing Director, Mobility

Co-Founder of TechStars NYC

Joao Nunes

Lead Startup Scout EMEA - Investments

Investment Principal, Techstars Anywhere

Annie Lapides

Senior Investment Manager

Managing Director Boulder 2021

Chinedu Enekwe

Venture Capitalist in Residence

Jessica Peltz-Zatulove

Business Development + Growth

Mentor - Colliers Proptech Accelerator

Investor in Residence - Alabama EnergyTech Accelerator

Chief Investment Strategy Officer, Partner

Sr. Associate (Freelance)

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

Techstars is a global pre-seed venture capital firm and mentorship-driven accelerator dedicated to helping early-stage startups succeed. Its mission centers on empowering founders by providing not just capital, but also access to a vast network of mentors, corporate partners, and investors. Techstars invests across a broad range of sectors—including fintech, healthtech, AI, SaaS, and cleantech—focusing on companies with disruptive potential and scalable business models. The firm’s impact on the startup ecosystem is profound: since its founding, Techstars has supported thousands of founders in over 150 countries, helped launch dozens of unicorns, and contributed to a cumulative portfolio market cap exceeding $124 billion. Its accelerator programs are widely recognized for their ability to fast-track startup growth and catalyze regional innovation ecosystems.

Origin Story

Founded in 2006 in Boulder, Colorado, Techstars was established by David Cohen, Brad Feld, David Brown, and Jared Polis. The founders sought to create a scalable, mentor-driven alternative to the traditional Silicon Valley-centric startup incubator model. Inspired by Y Combinator but aiming for broader geographic reach, Techstars pioneered a decentralized accelerator structure that could be replicated in cities around the world. Early programs in Boulder, Boston, and Austin proved the model’s viability outside the tech epicenter, and by 2017, Techstars had cemented its reputation when SendGrid, one of its portfolio companies, became the first accelerator graduate to go public. Over the years, Techstars has expanded its footprint to more than 30 cities and evolved from a single accelerator into a global network of programs, investors, and partners.

Core Differentiators

Mentorship-Driven Model: Techstars formalized the mentor-mentee relationship, with hundreds of experienced entrepreneurs and executives providing hands-on guidance throughout the accelerator program.
Global Network: With over 9,000 founders, 4,000 mentors, and thousands of investors and partners, Techstars offers unparalleled access to expertise, capital, and sector-specific connections.
Regional Ecosystem Building: Techstars intentionally decentralizes its programs, supporting local entrepreneurial ecosystems and fostering innovation in emerging tech hubs.
Comprehensive Operating Support: Beyond funding, startups receive curated workshops, peer learning opportunities, and access to corporate partners—enabling rapid product development and market entry.
Track Record: Techstars has helped launch unicorns like Chainalysis, Zipline, and DataRobot, and its portfolio companies have achieved notable exits and IPOs, including SendGrid and DigitalOcean.

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Techstars is riding the wave of democratized entrepreneurship, where innovation is no longer confined to Silicon Valley. The rise of remote work, digital infrastructure, and global capital flows has made regional accelerators more relevant than ever. Techstars’ decentralized model aligns perfectly with this trend, enabling founders from diverse backgrounds and geographies to access world-class resources. The firm also plays a critical role in shaping innovation policy and regional economic development, partnering with governments, universities, and corporations to co-create the future of industries. By lowering barriers to entry and fostering collaboration, Techstars has become a catalyst for the next generation of disruptive startups.

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Techstars is poised to continue expanding its global footprint, leveraging its Techstars Universe platform to deepen founder engagement and unlock new opportunities across sectors. As the startup ecosystem becomes increasingly interconnected, Techstars’ ability to connect founders with mentors, investors, and corporate partners will remain a key competitive advantage. The firm is likely to double down on sector-specific accelerators and deepen its impact in emerging markets, where entrepreneurial talent is abundant but access to capital and expertise is limited. In the years ahead, Techstars will not only shape the trajectory of individual startups but also influence the evolution of the global innovation economy—proving once again that breakthroughs can begin anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded Techstars?

Techstars was founded in 2006 by Brad Feld (Co-founder) and David Tisch (Co-Founder of TechStars NYC).

How much funding has Techstars raised?

Techstars has raised $66.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.

Who are Techstars's investors?

Techstars's investors include BoxGroup, Colle Capital, Foundry Group, Gotham Gal Ventures, Grace Beauty Capital, QueensBridge Venture Partners, Scout Ventures, Vayner RSE, Frank Rimalovski, Lori Greiner, Betaworks Ventures, Index Ventures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who founded Techstars?

Techstars was founded in 2006 by Brad Feld (Co-founder) and David Tisch (Co-Founder of TechStars NYC).

How much funding has Techstars raised?

Techstars has raised $66.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

Mentorship-Driven Model: Techstars formalized the mentor-mentee relationship, with hundreds of experienced entrepreneurs and executives providing hands-on guidance throughout the accelerator program.
Global Network: With over 9,000 founders, 4,000 mentors, and thousands of investors and partners, Techstars offers unparalleled access to expertise, capital, and sector-specific connections.
Regional Ecosystem Building: Techstars intentionally decentralizes its programs, supporting local entrepreneurial ecosystems and fostering innovation in emerging tech hubs.
Comprehensive Operating Support: Beyond funding, startups receive curated workshops, peer learning opportunities, and access to corporate partners—enabling rapid product development and market entry.
Track Record: Techstars has helped launch unicorns like Chainalysis, Zipline, and DataRobot, and its portfolio companies have achieved notable exits and IPOs, including SendGrid and DigitalOcean.

About

Recent News & Mentions

Financial History

Investments Made

Funding Rounds Raised

Financial History

Leadership Team

Leadership Team

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Recent News & Mentions

Leadership Team

Deep Dive

High-Level Overview

Origin Story

Core Differentiators

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Sources

Frequently Asked Questions

Financial History

Investments Made

Funding Rounds Raised